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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22625776">Insensate</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Left_Handed_Darkness/pseuds/Left_Handed_Darkness'>Left_Handed_Darkness</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>All Rise [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Transformers - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Body Horror, Cold Construction, Cortical Psychic Patch, Dark Energon (Transformers), Decepticon power dynamics, Dysfunctional Relationships, Fan Continuity, Friends to Enemies, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Knockout is an incorrigible flirt, Megatron and Starscream have a Sith mentorship style thing going on and HOOO BOY it ain't pretty, Mutilation, Revenge, Seeker Trines, Timeskips, You Have Been Warned, a cameo of the Star Sabre (where it came from is another story in its own right), all the decepticons have a metric fucktonne of issues and ZERO chill, and probably has a Thing for Seekers, don't come here expecting cute domestic fluff, here is your dead dove, mention of Skywarp's offscreen cannibalism, oh hi Unicron ripping sparks out like they're advent choccies, sharing memories, using elements from IDW G1 and TFP</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 09:02:34</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>7,791</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22625776</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Left_Handed_Darkness/pseuds/Left_Handed_Darkness</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Starscream might be a name synonymous with betrayal and resentment, but it wasn't always so. Once he and Megatron were close allies - until it all fell apart.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Knock Out &amp; Starscream (Transformers), Megatron &amp; Orion Pax, Megatron &amp; Starscream, Megatron/Starscream (Transformers), Skywarp &amp; Starscream &amp; Thundercracker, You could probably interpret bits of this as slash-y, adding in the megascream tag because I am informed that this fic got slashtastic fast, however it does not end at all well</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>All Rise [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1623433</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Insensate</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span> Megatron's thoughts were interrupted by the whine of thrusters and a blast of hot air as the seeker landed. Ozone and the distinctive tang of energon hung in the air as his gaze fell upon his subordinate - his eyes lingering on the empty socket where an arm used to be.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Consider our little problem </span>
  <em>
    <span>dealt with</span>
  </em>
  <span>." A predatory grin spread across Starscream's face, the seeker's cleanly sculpted features contrasted by his razorlike fangs.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Effectively and professionally, might I add. There are many amongst us who might consider violence and pain to be their art; yet that doesn't mean that they're just as capable of resisting it." He tapped his chin appreciatively, lips twitching into a thin smile of his own. "You have more discipline than most."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Discipline? As much as I appreciate complements, you're going to have to elaborate."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Most people would be panicking upon losing an arm. Vosian defence command clearly trained you well."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Starscream shrugged. "It can be replaced. Besides, it doesn't even tickle."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Ah, circuit dampeners then."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Not even that. I don't feel what you might understand as pain."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "What do you mean?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "It's standard practice in military con factories. The reasoning? Pain makes people hesitate and recoil - not habits that our</span>
  <em>
    <span> betters</span>
  </em>
  <span> want to see in their soldiers. So our sensor nets are wired without the capacity to feel it. The closest I can muster are the damage reports - and all they do is</span>
  <em>
    <span> annoy</span>
  </em>
  <span> me."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Megatron's expression softened. His admiration was gone, replaced instead with sadness, a quiet anger, and something else. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Pity. </span>
</p><p>
  <span> "They didn't give you a choice, did they? They cut sensations from your body before it was even yours."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "That didn't stop me from making it my own." Wings hiked up in defiance and the seeker's head tilted back. "Spare the pity for the poor sod getting his fuel tanks cracked open by Skywarp. He's a messy eater at the best of times."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "As brutal as he is, you have to admire the poetry in it; the haughty, devoured alive by those they would see starve. Torn apart for scrap by the disposable and the indentured." That smile was back, this time hardened by schadenfreude and tempered by irony.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Starscream's posture slackened, and his eyes widened with sinister curiosity. </span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Someone has refined tastes, haven't they? Did your time as Sentinel's pet gladiator leave you with a hunger for finer things?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "You're fascinated by that, aren't you?" Megatron raised an eyebrow, noting how the seeker's wings twitched with a perverse delight. "You find beauty in conflict, but a true understanding eludes you because despite every instinct that begs for more, you'll forever be denied the most visceral aspects of it."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Oh don't put it so transparently, I have an appearance to maintain, and having the world mistake me for an aimless brute wouldn't do me any favours. Besides, pity still tastes as foul, even when you disguise it behind a silver tongue."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Then perhaps the tongue of a poet might torment you with something else then." Two fingers rapped against Megatron's temple. "Something that you've never had."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Starscream's wings twitched, and an eyebrow arched. Yet despite his composure, it was impossible for the seeker to hide the fascination in his eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Memories."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "More than I'd care to have."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"That's a risk, offering to let me rummage around your mind like a Junkion in a scrap heap. Who knows what filthy little secrets I'll find?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "You're clearly mistaken if you think that I won't rein you in the moment you take one step out of line. The Pits of Kaon meant different things to gladiators and spectators, and if you're fascinated by the former, you'll have to sacrifice the freedoms of the latter." Megatron paused, his expression distant and analytical as he observed the shift in Starscream's body language. As dignified as the seeker pretended to be, there was still something feral and violent beneath the surface. "My mind, my terms - this isn't amateur hour at the Institute, and if it was, there would be more empuratees on the planet."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Point taken." The seeker replied, albeit the smile on his face indicates anticipation rather than rejection. Megatron raised an eyebrow, clearly intrigued by the prospect.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> One way or another, they'd be getting to know one another better. </span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <em>
    <span> Energon spattered across the arena floor as Megatron thrust a broken blade through his opponent’s shoulder. His own wounds burned as the predacon’s fangs sank into his arm, but the pain only spurred him on. Life or death. Kill or die. It was simple from where he stood.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span> Besides, if he couldn’t shatter Sentinel Prime’s legs into pieces, this would make do.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span> There was a bestial snarl - whether his own or the beast’s didn’t matter. Not as he slammed the creature against the wall, tearing plating and wiring with his free hand. The crowd roared, drowning out all thought.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span> An armoured fist punched through steel and cables, fingers clenched around the predacon’s spark, and he </span>
  </em>
  <span>pulled</span>
  <em>
    <span>. The beast snarled, talons leaving a deep gash across his face, hooking into the exposed joint behind his knee. One last frantic struggle and then-</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span> He threw the beast’s corpse to the floor, its spark chamber in one hand and the other torn clean off. He looked up at the heavily guarded box in which Sentinel sat, eyes narrowing as he met the gaze of the man who put him there. The man who took a poet and made him into a killer.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span> Megatron threw the spark into the ground. Lips contorted into a disgusted snarl as he gave the Prime one last defiant look, before turning on his heel and limping away.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span> Starscream's talons went to his arm, tracing lines over phantom wounds. His body twitched - halfway a flinch, halfway from confusion as his mind churned over sensations that were so very alien to him. It was disorienting - some vestigial instinct was shrieking at him, a primal urge to do </span>
  <em>
    <span>something</span>
  </em>
  <span> - but there was nothing to react to. No damage, no threats. Not even his finely tuned combat protocols were responding. He simply lay there, stunned. </span>
</p><p>
  <span> Megatron patted the Seeker's cheek, foreign emotions - concern and </span>
  <em>
    <span>pity</span>
  </em>
  <span> - brushing against Starscream's mind. Defiance rose out of the confusion and pain, an attempt to reassert a sense of dignity in spite of his predicament.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "There are only two certainties in life; getting buggered backwards by the Senate, and Sentinel Prime being there to officiate." Starscream slurred, unable to conceal a discomforted groan.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "You get used to it." Megatron replied, a bittersweet smile on his face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "The stabbing feeling, or Sentinel rubbing your face in the dust?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Megatron's hand went to the base of Starscream's skull, fingers coiling around the cables jacked into the medical ports there. The seeker placed a hand of his own on the larger Decepticon's arm, shaking his head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "I bet he never mentioned the time that he ended up eating that superiority complex of his." Starscream grinned, revealing razor sharp fangs. His wings flicked upwards with pride. </span>
</p><p>
  <span> Megatron said nothing, but Starscream could feel his curiosity over the psychic patch. </span>
</p><p>
  
  <em>
    <span>"What does it matter? They're constructs - barely people to begin with. If one dies, twenty more replacements can be built in short order."</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Starscream had been the first to notice the flared ailerons and the flexed talons. Thundercracker was normally composed, even under fire.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span> But not this time. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span> "With all due respect sir, regardless of whether the troopers are forged properly or constructed cold won't matter if you throw resources at a lost cause. Even pirates can be a threat once they've organised on such a scale."</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span> Others were noticing it too, casting furtive glances at one another.Thundercracker strode forwards, wings flicking back in barely restrained fury. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span> "Then we come at them in larger numbers, Primus knows that we have spa-"</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>CRACK. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Sentinel hit the floor, stunned. Thunder planted a clawed foot on the small of the Prime's back, and grasped him by the scruff of the neck. He pulled back, then slammed down.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>CRACK. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>And again. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Starscream's optics flared with delight and he strode forwards. A smirk spread across his face as a nonchalant hand shoved the Prime's stunned aide out of his way</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>CRACK. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span> "You know, it really is bad form to be so dismissive towards your</span>
  </em>
  <span> loyal servants</span>
  <em>
    <span>, particularly when every last one of us have the most uncivilized tendencies."</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>CRACK.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span> Sentinel opened his mouth to reply, only for his jaw to be slammed into the floor. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span> "Maybe you ought to show a little gratitude. After all, Skywarp would have ripped your head clean from your shoulders if he wasn't in the medical bay. Though don't worry, you'll have plenty of time after you've finished scraping your ugly little face off the floor."</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>CRACK.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span> "If you treat people like animals, you don't get to be surprised when they bite back." Thundercracker's expression was a dark one. Eyes narrowed, lips contorted into a snarl. Every word was a low hiss whispered into Sentinel's ear.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span> Sentinel's escorts finally came to their senses, clamouring around the altercation. Stun batons crackled into life against Thundercracker's back, and the seeker went limp - not from the pain, but from the dawning realisation as to what he'd just done.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span> Starscream watched as his comrade was hauled away, giving the other seeker a half- smirk and a cheeky salute.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span> Then kicked the Prime in his teeth. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span> "Personal guard or no, there will</span>
  </em>
  <span> always</span>
  <em>
    <span> be more of us than you. Now be a good little bitch and </span>
  </em>
  <b>
    <em>stay down</em>
  </b>
  <em>
    <span>."</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span> Megatron laughed. Yet beneath the schadenfreude there was a deep scar and a bitter streak. Starscream wouldn't have even guessed at it if it wasn't for the mental link. </span>
</p><p>
  <span> "What a strange feeling," Megatron pondered, massaging his own shoulder. It was a transparent distraction, but one that worked regardless.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What is?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Those wings of yours. I didn't realise that they picked up on so much."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "And for someone so big, your body feels cramped, like you've had to bury all the sensation under those armour plates - and you're not even a war frame. All plating without finesse. "</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Are you really one to talk when you cannot feel the full thrill of combat? The bite of knives through armour only spurs me on, but to you?" Megatron shakes his head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Pain and danger are only one aspect of that. I'm a seeker; if I catch the scent of energon on the air, I long to spill more. It's coded into my brain and my spark."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Megatron smiled, this time more appreciatively. "As delightful as setting you loose on those functionist bastards is, that's not all you are, are you? After all, neither of us would be here if we were at peace with the designations we were given."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "True. I wanted to be a scientist - maybe a physicist or an astronomer - but the Senate needed bodies to throw at their opponents. and lots of them." Starscream paused, staring down at viciously hooked talons. "Not all seekers are constructed cold, but it's hard to hide it when you and your kin all wear the face of a dead man."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "There's no need to be ashamed of where you came from, nor are you lesser than those who made you in their image"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Starscream snorts, tilting his head back coquettishly and winking at the former gladiator. "Oh please, I wear it better than</span>
  <em>
    <span> any</span>
  </em>
  <span> half rusted corpse."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "I wouldn't dare to imply otherwise" Megatron's gaze lingered on Starscream's slender neck,  trailing downwards to his shoulders. A slow yet curious hand reached to trail across the edges of a wing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> The warlord's eyes fluttered shut as he took a moment to process the phantom sensations echoing across the link. His brain kept trying to process a steady stream of unintelligible data; part of him caught glimpses of pressure readings and shifts in temperature, but most of it was beyond him. All but the fingertips on a foreign limb. </span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Is it my turn to lament sensations all but denied to you by virtue of construction?" Megatron didn't need to open his eyes to know that Starscream was smirking at him. He could feel the twitch of the seeker's lips as if they were his own. "That the implacable </span>
  <em>
    <span>Megatron of Tarn</span>
  </em>
  <span> is bound by the shackles of gravity and taunted by the skies above?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Megatron twitches as long talons trace between ailerons, filling his head with more junk data. His eyes open as Starscream flexes the control surface, almost overwhelming Megatron with a dizzying rush of information.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> He removes his hand from Starscream's wing, instead resting it on the Seeker's wrist - and mercifully, Starscream tapered off the influx of data.</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>First there was agony. Agony that shot through his limbs and into the blinding darkness that coiled around his limbs and bound him so taut that he was certain his joints had become dislocated from the sheer force. Megatron thrashed against his bonds, swearing in a way that would make even his fellow miners shy away in embarrassment. Yet the more he fought, the greater the pain grew and the tighter his bonds became. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>&lt;Surrender.&gt;</span>
  </em>
  <span> the word rumbled within his mind, sending tremors down his spine and aching limbs. Megatron simply snarled and struggled harder. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>&lt;Do not resist. I am inevitable.&gt;</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span> "Who are you? What are you doing to me?" Despite the pain, Megatron commanded a presence - albeit one marred by disorientation and helplessness.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> This time, the 'voice' remained silent, but the darkness shifted; fading into the purple and red haze of an unfamiliar nebula. Faint stars twinkled in a sweeping constellation, a chain encircling an immense object that hung within the void. </span>
</p><p>
  <span> It's eyes snapped open, bathing Megatron's prone form in an eerie purple glow.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <em>
    <span>&lt;I am Death, the Chaos-Bringer, and the End Of All Things. I am Entropy, the cold death that awaits at the end of time, the last gasp of forgotten civilisations and the twilight of existence itself. </span>
  </em>
  <b>
    <em>I am Unicron</em>
  </b>
  <em>
    <span>.&gt;</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Megatron broke into hysterical laughter. </span>
</p><p>
  <span> "And I'm Alchemist Prime after far too much cheap Luna-" he was cut off by splitting pains that ran up his extremities and towards his torso. His back arched as he let out a strangled cry. Yet in the back of his mind he couldn't help but wonder; were stars normally so blue? When were they ever green?</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Do you - really - believe… that this will accomplish anything?" Megatron's words came in laboured gasps. "I spent my youth… toiling in the caverns of Messatine. I w-was… a prisoner and a gladiator in Kaon. Suffering is my oldest- c-companion!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span> He was laughing again, straining against the tendrils of  sickening energy that bound him. He could feel his armour buckle and fracture beneath them, their dark power burning their way into his veins with a torturous determination.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <em>
    <span>&lt;Your compliance is unnecessary. Your body is fractured and broken, a suitable vessel for my blood. You will be reborn soon enough.&gt;</span>
  </em>
  <span> the entity - Unicron - paused, eyes narrowing into thin slits. Megatron could swear that the creature felt pleased with itself.</span>
</p><p>
  
  <em>
    <span>&lt;It suits you, does it not? Once more you are remade, meant to bear chains forged from greatness.&gt;</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span> "I cast my chains into the fires of Kaon, monster, and nevermore will I bow to the will of another."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> The pain burned further into his body now.  Amaranthine tendrils dug into his chest plating, forcing their way into latches and slowly wrenching him open. Megatron's vision flickered with blue and green dots as his spark chamber was exposed to the void. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>  At that moment, he realised that the constellations around him weren't made of stars.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>&lt;Kaon and Messatine are ephemeral. And I am inevitable.&gt;</span>
  </em>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <em>
    <span><br/>
</span>
  </em>
  <span> "-tals are stabilising. Dark energon infusions are seventy percent complete. He's still a mess and needs an extensive rebuild, but our gracious leader will survive."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Megatron stared up at the ceiling whilst his vision swam. He could recognise the voice - Knockout, the defector from the Iacon Scientific Institute - and thus deduce his location. The medbay. He was in the medbay. An attempt to roll into a more comfortable position revealed heavy restraints around his wrists and ankles, and the minuscule incisions of IV lines.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> That at least explained the dream. </span>
</p><p>
  <span> "This outcome is within acceptable parameters. Continue the infusion as planned." The second voice was Shockwave. Cold,  distant, but beyond competent in multiple scientific fields. A reassuring presence, even if his bedside manner was famously lacking. </span>
</p><p>
  <span> "As much as I appreciate your expertise, you </span>
  <em>
    <span>did</span>
  </em>
  <span> read my reports, correct? The ones that mentioned how total conversions led to instabilities and heightened aggression - nevermind that the original lab was destroyed when one of the test subjects went on a-"</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "We are at war. Every advantage that we can secure is a step ahead of the enemy. I have read your reports, and I believe that the 'side effects' of your process could provide a useful weapon against the Autobot forces."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Or the champion of Kaon goes on a bloody minded rampage, leaving walking corpses in his wake. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Our </span>
  </em>
  <span>walking corpses, might I add?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "As much as I appreciate your concern, I would appreciate it all the more if someone released me and explained what exactly is going on." Megatron chipped in, making the world around him spin at a jaunty angle. His fingers (the ones that remained, anyway) grasped for purchase on the table's steel surface. </span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Sadly that's not an option until the procedure is complete. Besides, the damage is quite severe and you will be better off immobilized for the time being."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Megatron opened his mouth to complain, but only managed to grumble incoherently as his world tumbled at a new angle. Yet despite it all, he felt an odd strength seeping into his shattered body. It was unlike anything he'd ever experienced; an intoxicating allure that trickled into his spark and spread outwards from there.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> His frame was shattered, but deep within he felt like a god.</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span> “You want me to teach you how to fly?” Starscream didn’t bother hiding the surprise in his voice. “It wasn’t something I learnt, it was something that was preprogrammed into my brain. You might as well ask a fish to teach you how to swim.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Megatron’s brow furrowed, and he shifted on new legs. Digitigrade, with powerful thrusters built into the tarsal struts, and a fusion cannon mounted on his right arm. He towered above Starscream, though the seeker appeared completely at ease in spite of the formidable warrior by his side.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> “At the very least, I’d appreciate having someone by my side in case I drop out of the sky like a meteor” Megatron huffed. He shot Starscream a gruff smile, resting a friendly hand on his companion’s shoulder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> “Oh if that’s your worry, perhaps we ought to give Iacon a visit. I’m sure with that nigh-apocalyptic loadout, you’d wake up in the middle of a crater surrounded by dead autobots.” Starscream shoved a playful elbow into Megatron’s flank.</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>"</span>
  <em>
    <span>You disobedient, self-serving FOOL!</span>
  </em>
  <span>"</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Megatron's fingers coiled around the seeker's throat, threatening to leave dents in polished plating. Starscream met the warlord's tainted gaze with a neutral expression, simply waiting for the violent</span>
  <em>
    <span> hunger</span>
  </em>
  <span> of Megatron's addiction to pass. Talons were held behind his back as he stood at parade rest, a vain attempt to hide the tension in his limbs. </span>
</p><p>
  <span> Dark energon left a sickly scent on the air, and it clung to Megatron like a bad memory. All the more so whilst it dropped from torn plating and ruptured fuel lines. Yet it didn't slow him down - if anything, his injuries added to the entropic fire blackening his spark. </span>
</p><p>
  <span> "My orders were simple, even a protoform could have enacted them. But you-" a blade was shaken barely inches from Starscream's face "-chose to disregard them entirely!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "My lord, your orders would have driven us into a well executed kill zone. Even if we might have been able to overwhelm the autobots,  the casualties would have rendered our eff-"</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "And yet you neglected to inform me of this when it was relevant." That unholy purple gaze wandered from Starscream's face to his shoulders. "As you did the last few times you disobeyed my direct orders. "</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Then perhaps you ought to try thinking every once in a while. I hear it does strategic won-"</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Damage reports pinged in the back of Starscream's mind as he slammed into the wall. On instinct he twisted around to swipe at his assailant, talons digging into joints and cabling - but it didn't work. Nothing worked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> The next impact came as the seeker was slammed onto the floor, legs swept from under him. Metal shrieked as Megatron grasped him by the shoulder with a crushing grip, dragging him to his knees. </span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Or perhaps, Starscream, you need reminding that arrogance has</span>
  <em>
    <span> consequences</span>
  </em>
  <span>." The blade lingered at the edge of Starscream's vision, its tip trailing over crumpled armour with a jarring musical ring. </span>
</p><p>
  <span> "There's no point to this, my lord. You know that it won't matter."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "How unlike you to forget, </span>
  <em>
    <span>commander</span>
  </em>
  <span> Starscream, that anguish isn't merely physical."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Wings dropped and eyes widened as Starscream realised what was about to happen. He shook his head, trying to worm his way out of Megatron's grasp. </span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Forgive me, please - my actions were made in the heat of the moment and I-"</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Living metal screeched, drowning out the seeker's words as the blade tore through his wing. Warm energon spilled from a ruptured fuel tank, bathing the two in a rich blue glow - and the blade didn't stop. Megatron took his time, hacking and sawing and</span>
  <em>
    <span> tearing</span>
  </em>
  <span> until Starscream's right wing was nothing more than bare struts and loose cables. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He'd stopped struggling. His head slumped forwards as Megatron reached for his other wing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "My lord, </span>
  <em>
    <span>please</span>
  </em>
  <span>. You've made your point." Starscream's voice was little more than a whisper, his thoughts drowned out by the constant warnings; major structural damage, rapidly dropping energon levels, alt mode functionality compromised. Cold. Clinical. Distant. </span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Not quite. But you're starting to see it."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> A foot pressed against the seeker's back with crushing force, pinning him to the floor as his left wing was torn from its housing. He didn't resist - there was no point. His injuries were too severe, and he knew that Megatron was more than a match for him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> So he lay in a growing pool of his own energon, waiting. His left wing clattered to the floor in ruins. Megatron's words faded into nothingness, followed by fading footsteps. Tears rolled down his scarred cheek and the minutes ticked on by, each moment feeling like an hour.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Eventually he pushed himself to his knees, catching a glimpse of his reflection in the energon pooling beneath him. Broken. Shattered. Wingless. At the mercy of a man he'd once thought of as an ally.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> And then he screamed. </span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span> Optics slowly came online, flickering and struggling to focus on a world that seemed more static than sense. Dull warnings flashed in Starscream's mind, though as sluggish as he was, he could barely make sense of them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"-asy, easy. Don't try to move. You've lost a lot of energon and you need to rest." The voice was familiar, as were the talons caressing his cheek.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "TC?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "I'm here. So's Sky."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> The 'ground' shifted under Starscream, and it slowly dawned on him that he might actually be lying on Skywarp's lap. He couldn't tell though. So much of him felt numb and…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Missing. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>A plaintive whimper caught in his throat, a broken and mournful noise that sounded borderline animalistic. Bladed fingers coiled around his own in a gesture far more gentle than an outsider would have expected seekers to be capable of.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Skywarp tipped his commander's head back, and Starscream could taste the energon being poured between his lips. A stray concern drifted through his mind - Skywarp's particular </span>
  <em>
    <span>dietary quirks</span>
  </em>
  <span> were less than sanitary or civilised. But he was too weak to argue.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Between the energon and the gentle caresses of his companions, he was dimly aware of the sound of a door opening, followed by footsteps. </span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Is he awake?" A clipped Iaconian accent enquired - Knockout, no doubt. Starscream gritted his teeth and fell silent in a futile attempt to retain some of his dignity - painfully aware that most of it was spilled across the bridge of the Nemesis. </span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Just about. He's not in any shape to go anywhere alone though. What a mess."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Don't give me that look, I wouldn't be leaving a job half finished if I had any say in the matter. But I'm not stupid enough to disobey Lord Megatron's orders for the sake of showing off. Even if the thought was a tempting one." There was a pregnant pause. "No offence meant, commander."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Starscream's talons twitched into a sluggish approximation of an obscene gesture, aimed in the rough direction of the Medic's voice. </span>
</p><p>
  <span> There was an odd sound, Knockout's imitation of an organic clearing their throat. Starscream's upper lip curled in faux disgust at the gesture. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"...anyway, I've repaired most of the damage to his chassis and internals. The majority of his root mode functionality should return quickly. As for the wings; well until I'm permitted to replace them, I've cut the remains down to the base struts. It's not pretty, but it's better than leaving torn sensor nets and power cabling dangling from his back."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Starscream tried to sit up, and was met with waves of disorientation and the pressure of Skywarp's arms pinning him down.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "You lost your wings not your hearing Screamer, stay put." Sky muttered, talons rapping against a shoulder. "Doc's orders and all that."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"For what it's worth commander, I'm sorry."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'm not dying you preening halfwit." The words were little more than a hiss. Knockout said no more, and the sound of a closing door followed hurried footsteps.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Starscream went limp, too exhausted to do anything else. He closed his eyes - an attempt to hold back tears of rage and loss.</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>"So Skywarp and I did a little scrounging and found this." Thundercracker punctuated his statement with a flourish of scarlet cloth. "It won't repair the damage, but it'll help keep grit and dust out of the joints. Besides, it's traditional."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "So is Alpha Trion, but you don't see me going around prodding titans into telling me bedtime stories."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "And reclaiming honours that the functionist regime would have denied us due to our construction doesn't appeal to your sense of the dramatic at all? Not even when it's in your colour?" Thunder gave the swath of an enticing wiggle. Starscream looked at him, then gave an exaggerated sigh, hands raised in mock surrender. </span>
</p><p>
  <span> "I concede, as much as my dignity will allow." Starscream gave the other seeker a cheeky smirk. Yet despite his good humour, it didn't entirely reach his eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You'll look like a Tetrahexian general by the end, I promise."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "We promise." Skywarp interjected alongside the signature </span>
  <em>
    <span>pop</span>
  </em>
  <span> of a wormhole generator.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Starscream flinched, glancing over his shoulder to see his other wingmate slurping energon from a carton. </span>
</p><p>
  <span> "I'm going to have to get used to that. It's a lot harder to tell where you - and everything else - are with so much…" he finished the sentence with a wave of his hand. "There is - was - a notable shift in air pressure when you do that. Matter displacement."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Skywarp just shrugged and slapped Starscream on the shoulder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "I did some digging and managed to 'find' this " Skywarp held up a rusted plate of metal. A familiar design was embossed onto its surface "Looks old, enough to be from home."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Where in Unicron's putrid maw did you find a Vosian insignia? "</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Skywarp slurped more energon through the straw before shooting Starscream a blue-stained grin. "Around. Looks like it might have dropped off the back of a shuttle. Whilst the shuttle was exploding."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Meanwhile, Thundercracker was making room on a nearby bench for Starscream to perch, clearing away books and datapads. Starscream sat down awkwardly, the ruined vestiges of his wings twitching behind him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span> Thundercracker began first, handing the sheets to Skywarp whilst carefully wrapping the first around the remaining wing struts on Starscream's left side. He was gentle but firm,  making sure that no cables were left exposed, before binding the fabric so that it wouldn't come loose. He gave the right the same treatment, whilst Skywarp caressed the back of Starscream's neck.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Satisfied with his handiwork, Thundercracker draped the last sheet around Starscream's shoulders, pinning it at the side using a magnet and Skywarp's insignia. </span>
</p><p>
  <span> For the first time in a long while, Starscream smiled without cruelty or mockery. </span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>Starscream said nothing as he walked onto the Nemesis's bridge, waving a dismissive hand at his subordinates - silencing any who might announce his presence. Normally, he'd welcome that familiar call; hearing </span>
  <em>
    <span>commander on deck</span>
  </em>
  <span> and being the centre of attention,  of authority, was intoxicating. But now?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bandaged wing struts drooped, and he felt as if every pair of optics resting upon him held a predatory or pitying glare. He felt - he </span>
  <em>
    <span>was</span>
  </em>
  <span> - vulnerable. </span>
</p><p>
  <span> Lips curled into a momentary snarl and scarlet eyes narrowed as he approached the throne that dominated the room. Or more accurately, the pile of corpses melted into the wall at the back of the bridge. Half-melted faces were contorted in fear and agony, their last moments preserved in a gruesome work of art. A monument to the </span>
  <em>
    <span>true</span>
  </em>
  <span> terror sat upon the throne. </span>
</p><p>
  <span> Starscream dropped to one knee, head bowed - both in deference and to hide his humiliation. </span>
</p><p>
  <span> "I see that you have made a swift recovery. As resilient as always, commander Starscream." Megatron's voice rumbled with approval. The seeker's wing struts flinched, as if every word were another lash to his ruined form.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Starscream composed himself, hazarding a furtive glance up at the warlord. Megatron was leaning into the side of his throne, chin in one hand whilst he gazed down at his first officer with a raised eyebrow and a pleased smirk. </span>
</p><p>
  <span> Starscream bowed his head again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "We have a war to win, master. Despite our… occasional </span>
  <em>
    <span>differences</span>
  </em>
  <span>, I have no intent of giving the Autobots any room to gather their wits." He kept his head down, not letting </span>
  <span>Megatron see the grimace or bared fangs. Instead he let the barely restrained resentment in his voice find an acceptable target.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Good."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> The whine of motors accompanied the dull thud of Megatron's footsteps as he descended from his throne. Starscream's mutilated wing struts pressed against his back, and he forced his expression into one of neutrality.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A finger slid under his chin, tilting his head back until his eyes met Megatron's. It was followed by a gentle caress as a claw-tipped thumb stroked his cheek, trailing downwards before teasing Starscream's lower lip.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "I was concerned, Starscream, that you might have lost your fire. But it seems that I have merely set you back on the right course." Megatron's voice was a deep rumble, fading into a murmur as he knelt by his subordinate.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "If you keep to your word, if you remain obedient; then I assure you that your wings will be restored. And if you exceed my expectations, I might be able to arrange an upgrade to that frame of yours."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yes, master."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The seeker was dimly aware that his gaze had settled into an obstinate glare, though Megatron looked more</span>
  <em>
    <span> proud</span>
  </em>
  <span> than anything else. Yet his words - his offer of a new body - were too tantalising to ignore.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> The knot of resentment in his spark tightened. He was being strung along on a proverbial leash; first had come the stick, and now the carrot. There was so much that he wanted to say, to </span>
  <em>
    <span>scream</span>
  </em>
  <span>, but the Nemesis’s bridge wasn’t the place to say it - not if he wanted to walk away with what little dignity he still had left.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Now as amusing as watching you prostrate yourself at my feet can be, we both know that you are much like myself - thus not so easily broken. So to your feet, commander, there are worlds to set alight in a blaze to rival the stars themselves." Megatron offered Starscream a hand, which the seeker ignored as he climbed to his feet. He’d lost his wings, not his legs - and he was nothing but a slave to his pride.</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span> “Would you care to repeat that?” The words slid from Starscream’s razor-sharp tongue, dripping with venom and oozing with intent. His crimson eyes lit up as he gazed at his prey. That alone should have been enough of a warning.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> “Oh? And why should I do anything for Megatron’s wingless bitch? What are you going to do? Crawl after me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You really can’t take a hint, can you?” Starscream gave a cold smile, head tilting to the side as he eyed the other decepticon.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> It happened in less than a moment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Roadrage had just opened his mouth to make another smartarse comment - but not before Starscream was on him like a wild thing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Null rays fired, immobilising Roadrage. Vicious talons struck near-instantaneously, piercing armour and severing joints with a spray of energon. Roadrage lashed out with a blade - but Starscream was faster, </span>
  <em>
    <span>crueller</span>
  </em>
  <span>, and wasn’t struggling against an EMP blast.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> “Crawl? Really? I don’t suppose that you would care to demonstrate.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> The blade pierced Roadrage’s abdomen, severing his spinal column and pinning him to the ground. Roadrage growled in pain - only to be met by a fanged grin and an energy blade. Energon spattered the Seeker's frame, painting him an eerie blue.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Go on then, </span>
  <em>
    <span>crawl</span>
  </em>
  <span>. All the way to the medbay. I’m sure that if you put that mouth of yours to use </span>
  <em>
    <span>grovelling</span>
  </em>
  <span> rather than insulting your superior officers, someone might help.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Roadrage attempted to retort, but all that escaped him was a low grown - and by that point, Starscream had turned and walked away.</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span> "Do you understand my motivations, Starscream?" Megatron asked, pouring engex into a pair of fluted glasses and offering one to the Seeker with a steady hand. Starscream eyed the cold blue liquid for a moment,  wondering as to whether or not the engex might have been drugged or poisoned, but ultimately came to the conclusion that it wasn't. </span>
</p><p>
  <span> After all, Megatron had no need for such underhanded means; if he wanted to hurt someone, he was more than capable of doing so with nothing more than his bare hands. The thought sent a shudder through the Seeker’s severed wings, though in the back of his head he really wondered if Megatron could do anything worse than he already had.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Still, Starscream remained silent, taking a swig of the engex and letting it roll over his tongue a little before swallowing. It was high quality stuff, not like the swill that was served in the various watering holes found across Decepticon space. Despite his growing misgivings, Starscream had to admit that Megatron had good taste. And not just in materiél.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Back on Cybertron, I told you that Kaon meant two very different things to those who frequented it. To spectators, it was a rush, a blood sport, and a way to escape the monotony of life under Functionist rule. But to the gladiators, it meant something else entirely."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Starscream tilted his head. "Go on"</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Unrelenting cruelty; degradation, servitude. The rush of victory was merely the lure that kept us sane. The Senate took its dissidents and miscreants and sent them there to be broken and remade into something it could use.” Megatron leaned against one of the support columns, polished chrome plating catching the dim purple light and twisting it into veins of colour that left him looking bloodied.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Yet in some cases, it had the opposite effect. Weakness was stripped away by outrage, resentment honed convictions to a razor edge, and anguish merely sparked wildfires of passion and determination."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Wing struts fluttered, twitching in muted indignance to Megatron's confession. "And despite having shared other memories, you never once cared to show me this?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "You lay back and let me into your head,  Starscream. You have a detached fascination with the anguish of others - if I had shown you everything, you would have simply let the experience wash over you. No, I couldn't simply let you spectate; to truly understand, you would have to endure those torments for yourself."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Starscream's expression went from shock to rage to understanding in a matter of seconds.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "This is a trial, isn't it? You're testing me, finding my limits, but-"</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "No, it is a reforging." Megatron smiled, resting a hand on Starscream's shoulder. "I look at you and I see </span>
  <em>
    <span>potential</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Ambition, cunning, charisma, and willpower. But those are nothing unless they're refined through hardship until they are a razor's edge."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "As I was broken and reborn at the feet of Sentinel Prime, so will you too, break and heal and claw your way to greatness. You will create your own legacy, stepping out from under my shadow once you are ready. "</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Careful, when you put it like that, someone might mistake you for a sadist." Starscream flashed Megatron that coquettish smile, swirling the engex in his glass with a distracted twitch of his wrist. Yet despite the revelation the cold anger remained.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Starscream felt used. He hated that; and what he hated more is that </span>
  <em>
    <span>Megatron</span>
  </em>
  <span> knew exactly how to make him </span>
  <em>
    <span>feel</span>
  </em>
  <span>. The seeker drowned a laugh with another mouthful of engex in a vain attempt to wash away the bitter taste in his mouth.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Well it takes one to know one, doesn't it?" Megatron snorted, shaking his head. His hand slid behind Starscream's shoulder, massaging the socket of a ruined wing. "Banter aside, you will suffer as I have. But I have no doubt in my mind that you will endure and fight as hard as I. True leadership is a struggle, and not something that can be handed on a platter or granted by ancient relics."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Optimus is still on your mind, isn’t he?” Starscream’s eyes narrowed, tongue clicking against fangs. “The good little forged brat that had everything you could ever want, handed </span>
  <span>to him on a golden platter from on high. It’s hard to make a bitch - oh I’m sorry, a </span>
  <em>
    <span>protogé</span>
  </em>
  <span> out of someone who has it all”</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Megatron shifted, the fingers in Starscream’s wing joint curling around cables with a threatening grip.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> “Between those keen eyes and that wicked tongue of those, nothing escapes you, does it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span> “I’d be a piss poor sadist if it did. And unlike you, this bitch has fangs.” Nostrils flared and lips curled back to reveal a row of jagged teeth. Starscream sunk his talons into Megatron’s elbow joint with a lazy flourish, angling a null ray at Megatron’s lower abdomen in the same graceful movement. He downed the rest of the engex in one go.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> “Go ahead, break me. Tear me apart. Maybe I can’t win - maybe I’ll never win on my own. But you’re forgetting that the Parliament only answers to its own. And even with that flightframe rebuild of yours, you’ll never be Vosian or Tetrahexian, you’ll never be </span>
  <em>
    <span>one of us</span>
  </em>
  <span>; and the moment you go too far against us, we </span>
  <em>
    <span>will</span>
  </em>
  <span> turn on you. And even </span>
  <em>
    <span>if</span>
  </em>
  <span> you win, the Autobots will be circling the battlefield not long after.” Starscream hissed, leaning into Megatron’s tightening grasp. “Now get me another bloody glass because I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>far</span>
  </em>
  <span> too sober to be dealing with your little powertrip.</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span> Starscream hung from the ceiling like a marionette. Cables snaked down from above, plugging into medical ports across his immobilised form. Each one fed data into the machines around him, recording his vital signs with a thoroughness that allowed no secret to remain hidden. Keen red eyes monitored the machinery with a detached fascination, understanding more than one might have expected.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> He might not have become a scientist - not properly anyway - but he hadn’t lost the will to learn.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Besides, the information was a welcome distraction from the fact that he was immobilised inside his new body, and… </span>
  <em>
    <span>Knockout</span>
  </em>
  <span>. The surgeon had mostly finished with the procedure, and was now fine tuning the Seeker’s form with more attentiveness than Starscream considered professional. Granted, Starscream couldn’t really blame him; a polished red finish hid unutrium-alloy plating, and twinned missile launchers rested behind two pairs of wings.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Knockout was running a finger under the edge of one of those wings, paying half a mind to the datapad in one hand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> “If you’re really that </span>
  <em>
    <span>fascinated</span>
  </em>
  <span> by flightframes, why don’t you engage in an upgrade of your own?” Annoyance an exasperation crept into Starscream’s voice, though he couldn’t prevent his lips from twitching into a slight smirk. “Or are you just hoping that one of my seekers can come up with a creative use for a null ray?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span> “Oh don’t mind me, I need to test whether you’ve made the necessary synaptic connections. I can’t have you flying off before you’ve integrated into a new frame - even </span>
  <em>
    <span>with</span>
  </em>
  <span> the unutrium upgrades, you’d only come back shortly after so that I can wring the crumples out of those lovely new wings of yours.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span> “And wouldn’t you enjoy that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span> “Greatly. I admit, it’s nice to have something to do that </span>
  <em>
    <span>doesn’t</span>
  </em>
  <span> involve loading dead cons up with enough dark energon to move a titan. They’re terrible conversationalists, even when they’re not trying to gnaw someone’s arm off or snack on their innards.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span> “And now you know how everyone feels about working with Skywarp.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span> “Ah, yes. Those outlier abilities of his are… resource hungry to say the least. Perhaps if he’d allow me to have a look under the hood, I might be able to tweak his fuel regulator or auxillary tanks somewhat.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span> “And not two minutes later you’d be missing your spark for getting </span>
  <em>
    <span>handsy</span>
  </em>
  <span>. I mightn’t be averse to your indulgences, but Skywarp?” Starscream snorted, grinning impishly. “He’d string you up by the ankles and drain you dry.”</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span> Starscream's eyes flared with celestial energy and vicious winds howled around the mountain peak. Talons curled around the grip of a familiar blade as if it were the hand of an old friend.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> The star sabre sang to him, coils of electromagnetism radiating from the magnetar fragment set in the hilt. It was an impossible diamond from a long dead star, the blade a searing cone of radiation hot enough to melt through any armour - no matter how thick or how resilient. </span>
</p><p>
  <span> "What is this, Starscream? Are you so much of a coward that you have to hide behind that relic like a</span>
  <em>
    <span> Prime</span>
  </em>
  <span>?" Megatron barked above the winds. The obsidian silhouette of a fusion cannon whined with energy, a violet glow building as it primed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Starscream </span>
  <em>
    <span>smiled</span>
  </em>
  <span>, all four of his wings fanned out behind him, each one as bladed and deadly as his talons or fangs. Megatron was uncharacteristically wary, keeping his distance from the Seeker rather than going in for a crippling blow - a rare sight indeed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "What's wrong, </span>
  <em>
    <span>master</span>
  </em>
  <span>? Aren't you going to put me in my place? Aren't you going to break me and humiliate me in front of my Parliament and call it a rebirth?" The smile contorted into a predator's sneer, a cruel grin that displayed the seeker's vicious fangs. Starscream walked towards Megatron with a lazy strut, twirling the star sabre in the air with a practiced hand, trailing bright white patterns as if it was merely a toy. </span>
</p><p>
  <span> Megatron fired.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Twirling on one heel, Starscream lashes out with the relic blade - trailing auroras of cyan and heliotrope as blade meets beam. The shockwave throws snow and ice into the air in a facsimile blizzard. And then, silence. </span>
</p><p>
  <span> Megatron groans, finding his back against impacted snow and ice whilst his head rings with a headache that will last for days. He props himself up with his fusion cannon, vapour hissing from the barrel as his eyes fix upon the searing white beam aimed not inches from his chest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> There's a distant rumble coming from the west, the ground below them shifting ever so slightly. But that's not important now. </span>
</p><p>
  <span> What is important is the gleaming form of the seeker leering down at him, blade in hand. Starlight and empyrean alloys play over his chassis like living metal as otherworldly armour shifts into place. If Megatron wasn't already damned by the blood of Unicron, he could have sworn that one of Primus's own Guiding Hand had struck him down, and now prepared to stand in judgement.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Starscream was </span>
  <em>
    <span>beautiful</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p>
  <span> Pain burned through Megatron's knee, snapping him back to reality with a blood- curdling cry. Starscream's face was contorted with bloodlust as much as it was framed by starmetal and voidsilver; both hands gripping the star sabre and driving it through the warlord's knee with as much force as the seeker could muster.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Pain.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Pain - agonies that Unicron should have stolen and replaced with the heights of pleasure - </span>
  <em>
    <span>burned</span>
  </em>
  <span> into his body and echoed within his maimed soul. It boiled the energon in his fuel lines, their contents turning acidic and spilling out onto the snow in an irradiated slurry of  burning fuel and molten metal.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> It was wrong, so terribly, </span>
  <em>
    <span>horrifically</span>
  </em>
  <span> wrong. The chaos replacing his spark</span>
  <em>
    <span> screamed</span>
  </em>
  <span> at him to run, to crawl, to</span>
  <em>
    <span> anything</span>
  </em>
  <span>. So he reached out with his hand to the empyreal being before him,  eyes wide and pleading with terror unlike any he'd felt in aeons. </span>
</p><p>
  <span> Starscream gently took Megatron's hand. </span>
</p><p>
  <span> And then plunged the star sabre through the warlord's other knee.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> "Given that you mutilated me, I believe it's only fair that I return the favour. After all, you said it yourself; suffering is a fascination of mine.  And I intend to reaquaint you with your beloved anguish."</span>
</p><p>
  <span> It occurred to Megatron that his own personal hell wasn't a torment of Unicron's devising, but in fact one he had created for himself. And in that moment, the world went white. </span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>&lt;Orion.&gt;</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Optimus’s eyes widened as a very old and a very disused comm channel pinged in the back of his head. Truthfully, he’d forgotten that he had it - millennia of war had a way of burying the small, personal things that were once taken for granted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Particularly when those personal things had spent so long trying to kill him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> &lt;You were right.&gt;</span>
</p><p>
  <span>&lt;I went too far.&gt;</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Megatronus.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> How long had it been since they’d said anything to one another that wasn’t born of conflict and conviction? He couldn’t tell - but this was different. It was quiet, resigned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span> Scared.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>&lt;Save me.&gt;</span>
</p><p>
  <span>&lt;</span>
  <em>
    <span>Coordinates have been attached with this message.</span>
  </em>
  <span>&gt;</span>
</p><p>
  <span> He set down the reports he’d been going over, and opened a different comm channel.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>&lt;Bumblebee, this is Optimus; I need you to gather a medivac team as soon as you can. Make sure that they bring the big guns.&gt;</span>
</p><p>
  <span>-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>&lt;Hang in there old friend, hang in there.&gt;</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>HOLY FUCK THIS WAS LONG</p></blockquote></div></div>
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